 |
| |
Click on a parish to change parishes. |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
PARISH PLANNING BASELINE |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
|
 |
Vermilion Parish
Vermilion Parish lies on the central Louisiana coast and is described as the “heart of Cajun country.” Picturesque Abbeville and other small communities draw tourists from all over the world. The half of the parish that isn’t coastal marshland relies on farming rice and sugarcane. Fishing, shrimping and the crawfish industry (aquaculture and processing) also contribute to the economy.
Most of the approximately 54,000 population lives in the northeastern portion of the parish, in Abbeville and Erath. Along the coast, thousands of acres of untouched wetlands are an annual stop for North American migratory birds and offer spawning grounds for an enormous variety of marine life.
After Hurricane Rita, residents of Vermilion Parish expressed concerns about ensuring the sustainability of their natural resources:
"We treasure our natural resources. The preservation of local culture is intertwined with concerns for the sustainability of our local fishing, crawfish and rice farming.”
|
|
 |
- The parish was named for the Vermilion River and Vermilion Bay.
- An annual festival celebrates French heritage with the cooking of a giant omelet.
- The city of Kaplan is referred to as "The Most Cajun Place on Earth."
- Vermilion Parish has 1,173 sq. miles in land area and a population density of 46.6 per square mile. In the last three decades of the 1900s, its population grew by 24.9%.
- The average household size is 2.67 persons compared to an average family size of 3.16 persons.
- In 2004 retail trade was the largest of 20 major sectors. It had an average wage per job of $18,574. Per capita income grew by 17.3% between 1993 and 2003 (adjusted for inflation).
- The parish seat is Abbeville.
- Larger communities are Abbeville, Erath, Gueydan, Kaplan and Maurice.
- Pre-storm, the population was 50,000.
- Significant economic interests are farming, trade and support for offshore oil and gas exploration, Public Administration (local government and schools), fishing, retail, light manufacturing.
|
|
|
